Author: teamabiwp

Why is My Child Misbehaving?

by our partners at CSUN’s Functional Assessment and Healthy Behavior Research Lab, recent graduates Elizabeth Hernandez, M.S. and Carissa Basille, M.S., and, Dr. Tara Fahmie.

Children of all ages can sometimes misbehave. The severity of problem behavior can vary with some problem behaviors being manageable and others causing concern. Not knowing why a behavior is occurring can cause stress within the parent-child relationship. As a parent, it can be frustrating to want to help your child and not know exactly what his or her needs are. Additional stresses and concerns for the child’s safety and the safety of others is also present if the child’s behavior involves aggression. Problem behaviors, if not managed early, can interfere with opportunities at home, in the community, and at school. For example, if a child is consistently running away from their seat during class time, the likelihood of engaging with the learning material is low.

The field of applied behavior analysis has discovered three common and natural reactions to problem behavior that might increase it in the long run. Understanding these common reactions (which involve delivery of attention, escape, and preferred items) can better equip parents in finding solutions.

1. Attention

Problem behaviors can occur because they have helped a child get attention from other people. Attention, like problem behavior, comes in various forms such as praise, reprimands, play time, eye-contact, etc. Remember that attention, whether “good” or “bad”, is still attention. An example of this could be when a child writes on furniture with a marker and as a result a parent begins to chase him or her around the house. Sometimes parents make the assumption that reprimands may aid in the reduction of a behavior. Unfortunately, if the behavior continues to occur consistently or even more following a reprimand, this type of attention could inadvertently be maintaining the unwanted behavior. Another example is in the classroom setting with the interaction between the “class clown,” the teacher, and other students in the class. When the class clown acts out, they may be receiving two forms of attention: peers providing praise and laughter while the teacher provides reprimands. Although these types of attention look very different from each other, they both are factors that could be maintaining the problem behavior. Caregivers could use some of the following strategies to reduce problem behavior that is maintained by attention. The first strategy is to provide attention frequently during downtime or when the child engages in appropriate behavior. For example, if a child is playing on her own, caregivers can provide praise statements like “Good job!” or “I like how you’re playing!”. Another example of when to provide attention is if a child appropriately asks for it. The amount of attention does not have to be massive, meaning that caregivers do not have to spend hours or provide exaggerated amounts of praise. In most cases a couple of minutes of playtime or a couple of praise statements are effective.

1. Escape or Avoidance

Problem behaviors can also occur because they have helped a child to escape or avoid non-preferred items or activities. For example, a child might engage in problem behavior to escape or avoid chores, homework, or bedtime. The problem behavior could also occur to avoid a specific object. An example of this is a child engaging in screaming and crying to avoid a dog or avoid the presentation of vegetables during dinner time. Activities or items that are being avoided are not necessarily bad for the child. For example, let’s say a child begins to whine and complain when she’s told that it is time to complete chores around the house. If this results in the parent doing the chores for the child, the child has avoided having to do chores. The problem behavior may be escape maintained if whining and complaining consistently gets a child out of chores. Similarly, if a parent provides a time out following whining and complaining about chores, they may be making the whining and complaining more likely in the future by allowing escape. To reduce the likelihood of escape-maintained problem behaviors occurring, a parent can provide small frequent breaks from an activity prior to the occurrence of the problem behavior. Parents can also make an activity more fun or break it down into easier steps for the child.

1. Access to Preferred Items / Activities

A third possible reason problem behavior may continue to occur is because it has helped a child get preferred items or activities. For example, a child scream or cry when his parent tells him he can’t have a snack before dinner. If this immediately results in the parent allowing the child to have the snack, crying and screaming have helped the child gain access to something preferred. The child is also more likely to cry and scream in similar situations in the future. One strategy that a caregiver can use to decrease the likelihood of the problem behavior helping a child get preferred items is to offer a preferred alternative when having to say, “no.” For example, if a child asks for a snack right before dinner, the parent could say, “We can’t have a snack, but we can have dinner right now.”

If a parent is not seeing a decrease in their child’s problem behavior or is seeing an increase, the best next step would be to bring their concerns to their supervisor. Addressing a problem behavior sooner rather than later can help reduce the likelihood of it getting worse. Parents shouldn’t be afraid to take it a step further and take some brief data at home. Recording information such as time of the behavior, what occurs prior to the behavior, the exact behavior occurring, and what occurs in immediately after is information that can help the supervisor develop solutions. Remember that as Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), our supervisors are here to help address parent concerns. Providing them with an idea as to why the behavior could be occurring is a great way to be involved in finding solutions.

A Twist On Teaching (Part 2)

This is a continuation of a previous blog post entitled “A Twist On Teaching” that explained two ways to enhance teaching: embedding teaching into activities and including group activities. Many more of these methods exist and in this “Part 2” post, we will elaborate on this topic and discuss how you can further enhance teaching by:

1. Gamifying the learning process
2. Picking what your children prefer

1. Gamification:

A fantastic way to enhance the learning process is to make learning itself a game! One great way to do this is to incorporate competitive and cooperative components into the activities that are entirely dependent on correct responding of the skills.

Competition:

Children can be split up into teams. When a child on a team correctly engages in the skill, their team can earn a star. The star can be placed on a “leader board” (see example below). The first team that earns enough stars to reach a goal can get access to a reward like a dance party, toys, or snacks. The goal is chosen before the activity and can be adjusted based on performance.

Example Competition Leader Board:

In this example, Team B reached the goal (the black square which is placed at 4 stars) first, and thus gained access to the reward.

Cooperation:

Children can all be in a single group. When any child correctly engages in the skill, the entire group can earn a star. The star can be placed on a “leader board” (see example below). If the entire group earns enough stars to reach the goal, they can all gain access to a reward. If the children do not reach the goal, then they all do not gain access to the reward.

Example Cooperative Leader Board:

In this example, the group earned enough stars to reach the goal (the black square which is placed at 6 stars) before the end of the game, and thus gained access to the reward.

Rewards that can be used can consist of dance parties, snacks, high-fives, hugs, access to toys etc. To find what rewards children like most, you can ask the children what they prefer (see more below)!

1. Child Preference:

Preference is an important and effective technique to add to teaching! Asking children what they prefer can increase successful teaching and allows the child to be a part of the learning process. There are multiple ways to incorporate preference into teaching. We have outlined a couple below:

Rewards that children can earn or win: Preference can be used to find out what items the children want as a reward following accurate responding in teaching. These items can include food, toys, technology, and more! Using the items the children prefer as rewards can increase their accurate responding in the future! Preference for these items can be determined a few different ways.

-One way is to ask the children what they would like to earn. Teachers can also provide options for the child to pick from (i.e. “Would you like to earn the iPad, your doll, or a book?”).

-In addition, laying out some potential items in front of the child and asking the child to pick one is another great way to find out what the child prefers to play with or earn following correct responding.

-Another way to determine rewards a student can earn is to watch the student in the room with all their toys. By doing this, you can see which toys the student spends the most time with and then use those toys as the rewards.

Preferred games to play: Preference for the different types of games you play during instruction can also be determined.

This can be done by either asking the child what game they want to play or even having a picture of the games present in front of the child and asking them what game they would like to play.

Preference for how you teach: You can also ask children which teaching style or methods they like best. For example, you can find out whether children prefer being taught in competitive or cooperative teaching styles, table top or on the floor, or even group or individual teaching.

You can do this by associating a specific color or picture with the different teaching styles. The pictures can be associated with the teaching styles. After each picture has been associated with the teaching styles multiple times, you can lay the pictures out in front of the child ask them which they prefer.

Adding choice and preference, regardless of what it is or how you do it, could truly enhance the overall education process. By discovering child preference, you can teach in the preferred style and allow the child to excel!

Summary: These two unique methods continue to provide a twist on teaching and can be very beneficial for our children. Even research conducted right here at ABI has shown that children can excel in these fun and engaging teaching environments just like these! Turning education into a game itself and asking for child preference all provide exciting, unique, and captivating ways to teach!

A Twist on Teaching: Making Learning Fun and Effective (Part 1)

Teaching our children new skills is a fundamental component of what we do in behavior analysis. Often, our instruction occurs sitting down with the child on the floor or at a table. As an effective method, it allows us to teach in a very direct. Although this technique is successful, our field is continuously expanding upon enjoyable ways we can effectively teach children! In this blog post, we will give some ideas on how to maximize teaching in fun and engaging ways by creating teaching environments that consist of:

1. Embedding teaching into fun activities
2. Including group activities

1. Embedding Teaching:

One great way to enhance teaching is to incorporate learning opportunities into entertaining activities. Let’s review a few examples of how to do this:
Bowling: Indoor bowling is a great game for kids! Within this game, opportunities to practice waiting skills, turn taking, gaining attention, requesting items, and more can be generated!
Example for requesting an item: While bowling, children can request the bowling ball from their parent or skills trainer (i.e., the teacher) when it is their turn to bowl (ex: “May I have the bowling ball, please?”). If the child does not engage in the skill, the teacher can explain, model, and re-present the opportunity for the child to practice again!
Ring Toss: While playing a game of ring toss, children can practice turn taking, gaining attention, requesting items, responding to their name being called, saying thank you and more!
Example for gaining attention of someone: While playing ring toss, children can gain the attention of teachers when it is their turn to play or when they need something from the teacher. If it is the teacher’s turn to play, the teacher can divert their attention elsewhere, creating the opportunity for the child to engage in the skill of asking for their attention (ex: calling their name, tapping their shoulder, saying excuse me, etc.). If the child does not engage in the skill, the teacher can explain, model, and re-present the opportunity (diverted attention) for the child to practice again!
Coloring: Children can practice waiting skills, requesting items, gaining attention, following instructions, and more!
Example for waiting skills: The teacher can provide limited crayons while doing a coloring activity. If the child requests another color, this becomes the opportunity for them to wait while the teacher uses it. The teacher can instruct the child to wait; if the child responds appropriately (ex: saying okay and doing something else), praise or the item can be provided. If the child does not engage in the correct response, the teacher can explain, model, and re-present the opportunity for the child to engage in the skill again.

2. Including Group Activities:

Another way to add fun and engaging components to teaching is to include a group of children! Having a group offers the benefit of a setting that resembles many social situations (ex: playground at school) and it allows for unprompted opportunities to practice a number of skills. Competitive and cooperative games like hide and go seek, bingo, bowling, tag, freeze dance, and more can be played to build cooperation skills (ex: working as a team, communicating with peers, etc.) and appropriate competition skills (ex: accepting loss, congratulating someone else’s win, etc.). In addition, using activities like coloring, crafts, gardening, and more in a group provides instruction that closely resembles group work activities at school; this can allow for greater generalization to classroom settings!
Here are the same games explained above, but now including a group component:
Bowling:
Bowling offers a number of opportunities for skill practice. The skills explained above can all be altered to include peers (ex: requesting for an item from a friend). An additional skill that can be practiced with peers is complimenting another team’s win. While bowling, children can practice complimenting other team members on their performance (ex: saying “good job!” when a peer knocks down the bowling pins).
Ring Toss:
There are a number of opportunities to practice skills with peers while playing ring toss. First, the skills explained above can all be altered to include a peer (ex: requesting attention from a peer by saying the peer’s name). An additional skill that can be practiced with peers is accepting a loss in a game. While playing ring toss, children can practice how to appropriately accept a loss (ex: the child can saw “Aw man, well maybe next time!”).
Coloring:
First, the skills explained above can all be altered to include a peer (ex: waiting for a peer to use crayons by saying “Okay” and continuing to color). An additional skill that can be practiced with peers is complimenting a peer’s work (ex: “The butterfly is really pretty” or “That’s a good picture!”). The finished project or while the children color act as opportunities for the child to compliment their friend’s work. If the students engage in the correct skill, it provides the opportunity to engage in another skill, the peer saying “Thank You.”
All of these skills can be practiced by children multiple times throughout an activity or game!

Summary: These two methods provide a twist on teaching and can be very advantageous for our children! Adjusting our teaching methods by embedding lessons into activities and using group instruction can be effective and can add an additional fun component to the learning process! Keep an eye out for ‘Part 2’ of this post that will continue the discussion on enhancing teaching!

Meet Our Staff – Amber G.

Amber, one of ABI’s veteran team members, began her career at ABI in November of 2006 as a skills trainer. While taking a psychology course focused on applied behavior analysis at CSUN, Amber told her professor, Dr. Hank Schlinger, that she was interested in working with children in the field and he recommended that she apply to ABI. Since then, Amber has progressed in her career at ABI and is now a lead registered behavior technician. During her tenure at ABI, she has worked with numerous clients of a variety of ages, across the autism spectrum.

When asked what the best part of her job is, Amber responded, “I truly enjoy just being around the kids. I love the cute things that they say and seeing the growth and progress that we help them achieve.” Amber goes on to shares a favorite memory with a client, “When one of my clients was younger, he really liked when I would read books to him. When I would arrive to his house, the first thing that he would say when he saw me was, ‘Read more! Read more!’” Amber’s advice to new skills trainers is to, “Hang in there! The job does get easier with experience and it is extremely rewarding.”

Amber, originally from Glendale, returned to Los Angeles from Northern California when she was 18 years old. When she’s is not working with the kiddos at ABI, she enjoys spending time with friends, family and her boyfriend. She enjoys hiking, going to the beach, dancing, sleeping in and listening to music.

An Educational Journey

Jensen joined our team at ABI in July of 2011 as a skills trainer. Since then, he has attained his credential as a registered behavior technician (RBT), was promoted to a lead position, and sought out higher education within the field of applied behavior analysis. Jensen is currently enrolled in CSUN’s Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program. When asked what was special or unique about CSUN’s program, Jensen noted that, in addition to the top-notch faculty, “The program is based on a cohort model, which means that you take classes with the same group of peers (throughout the entirety of the program). The cohort model allows students to build a network of future behavior analysts. The program also offers a variety of practicum options; students have the opportunity to work with professors directly in their research labs or at approved agencies.”

Jensen’s coursework has covered concepts and principles of behavior analysis, ethics, and assessment and intervention. All of the classes within this program are geared towards helping students develop the groundwork for a career as a behavior analyst. So far, Jensen’s favorite class has been Behavior Change Procedures. This course details procedures that behavior analysts use to make meaningful, socially significant changes in client behavior. Jensen noted, “The classes have helped me gain a better understanding of decision-making when choosing to apply specific procedures during a session.”

Jensen suggests that CSUN’s MS in Applied Behavior Analysis program is a good fit for anyone who has a passion for ABA, and can see a future for themselves within the field. Jensen’s favorite thing about this program is “the entire faculty is amazing and ensures that we are understanding the material which is helpful because the program can be tough at times. I’ve also really enjoyed having a supportive cohort along the way.” Jensen’s advice to skills trainers or anyone seeking to go to graduate school in this field is to learn how to manage your time wisely.

Celebrating 10 Years with Assistant Clinical Director, Jana!

Our wonderful Assistant Clinical Director, Jana Brodock, celebrated her ten year anniversary with ABI this November! Jana began her career at ABI in 2007 as a skills trainer shortly after her beginning the master’s program in psychology with an ABA emphasis at Cal State LA. “During interview for the master’s program, my mentor recommended ABI. Then, upon starting the program, I met a good friend who said that I should work for the agency she was working for—ABI. I applied shortly after that.”

Jana is originally from Albany, New York. During her childhood she and her family moved to Los Angeles so her father could pursue a career in music. Jana later perused her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Master’s Degree in Psychology from CSULA. She has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2009. Over the last ten years, Jana has held many positions at ABI—Skills Trainer, Lead Skills Trainer, Evaluations Coordinator, Program Supervisor, Managing Supervisor, and, of course, Assistant Clinical Director. Jana mentioned that her favorite part of every position she has held at ABI is seeing clients gain skills, and their parents’ joy. Jana, having worked with ABI for a decade now, has worked with and made memories with several clients. When asked her favorite memory, she shares, “I have so many favorite memories! One is when my client was working on levels of relationships and asked to identify my relation to him, given the choices of family, friend or stranger. He answered ‘Jana is my supervisor. She supervises me.’” Having several years of work and education in ABA, Jana’s advice to new skills trainers is, “Some days are easier than others, and some aspects of skills training may be difficult to master, but don’t give up. The good days are so rewarding!”

Jana currently lives in the San Gabriel Valley with her son and husband. In her free time she enjoys being with friends and family, and going to concerts. When asked what three things she would bring if she was stranded on a deserted island, she laughs and shares “My family, including my dog; she’s family too, music of all genres, and lots of food!”

Jana’s upbeat, positive personality is contagious to her clients and coworkers, making her an irreplaceable team member at ABI. Thank you for all of your dedicated work over the past decade, Jana! We are so happy to have you.

Meet Our Staff – Yohaly M.

Lead Registered Behavior Technician

Yohaly first started with ABI as a Skills Trainer in August of 2015. Since then she has advanced her career by becoming a Lead Skills Trainer, and then she became a Lead RBT after receiving her Registered Behavior Technician Credential from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

Yohaly was referred to ABI by her childhood friend, a current ABI employee. Yohaly completed her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in education and applied psychology from University of California, Santa Barbara. Yohaly is a native Californian currently residing in North Hollywood.

Yohaly always knew that she wanted a career working with children, but she had never thought about working with children with autism until applying to ABI. Yohaly’s favorite part of her job is watching her clients progress and learn new skills. One of her most rewarding experiences with a client was watching him go from making no eye contact and speaking very little, to being able to confidently hold eye contact and speak in complete sentences. Yohaly’s advice to new skills trainers is to be confident in your approach. She recalls being nervous at the beginning of her career at ABI, but as time went by she gained confidence and saw her approach strengthen. Yohaly enjoys working in the field of ABA, and she is considering returning to school to get a BCBA.

When Yohaly isn’t with our kiddos at ABI, she enjoys traveling and exploring different cities in southern California with friends.

Thanks for being such a great addition to our team, Yohaly!

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OUR NEW COLLABORATION?

By: Dr. Tara Fahmie, BCBA-D

An exciting new collaboration is underway between Autism Behavior Intervention and California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis program. The name of the collaboration is “Taking Steps Together” and its mission is to bring together top-quality services and cutting-edge research in behavior analysis. In a nutshell, this collaboration allows ABI families to access new opportunities for their children to participate in research led by myself (a faculty member at CSUN), Allison Bickelman (ABI’s Quality Assurance manager), and several highly-trained CSUN student interns. Before I tell you more about the vision for ‘Taking Steps Together,’ let me introduce you to our first two interns, Ellie and Carissa, and the program they initiated this year:

Hi Everyone! Our names are Ellie and Carissa. We started working at ABI about 9 months ago when we entered the masters program at CSUN. Under the supervision of Dr. Fahmie, Allison Bickelman, and Dr. Saltzman, we developed a group-based social skills program for preschool children at ABI. Our program was developed based on research in many areas: behavioral skills training, group-based learning, and, most importantly, pro-social skill development in children with an autism spectrum disorder. The result was a highly engaging 1-hr per week group, in which children experienced practice with social skills embedded into games and activities. We taught skills such as greetings, accessing adult and peer attention, and sharing materials. These skills are considered foundational to the establishment of friendships and the prevention of problems in social situations. Activities included bowling, playing duck duck goose, making food, singing, coloring, completing puzzles, gardening, crafting and more! In addition, we evaluated whether participating children preferred story-based or practice-based teaching styles. We thoroughly enjoyed developing and implementing this program, and we know that our results will inform future work at ABI!

I am proud of these interns as well as the families who participated in the social skills groups with us this year. I also feel a great deal of excitement about the future of this collaboration. Taking Steps Together promotes three distinct, but equal, aims—service, training, and research.

Service. Our partnership is designed to enhance evidence-based behavioral programming for children and families.

Training. Graduate student interns gain important skills in the application of behavior analysis to a community setting and accrue hours that meet the university-based practicum experience standards of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

Research. Our team (including CSUN undergraduates, graduates, and faculty advisors) conducts research designed to increase our understanding of best-practice applications of behavior analysis.

These three goals guide our work together with ABI. Our immediate future plan is to extend our social skills groups to older children. If you are interested in participation, do no hesitate to email me (email hidden; JavaScript is required) or Allison Bickelman (email hidden; JavaScript is required).

Sports Social Series

By: Lilit Dagesian

Sports have been my passion my entire life. The past four years I fell in love with ABA and working with kids with autism. I felt so grateful and privileged to have had the opportunity to bring them together this summer at ABI’s first Sports Social Series.

I really wanted to make sure that our first Sports Social Series would not only help our kids learn new skills, but also be fun and interactive for our kids and skills trainers. Our 8-week Sports Social Series was designed to build our kids’ social, play, and communication skills related to age-appropriate sports such as basketball, baseball, soccer, and kick ball. We also learned through cooperative outdoor games like tug of war, steal the bacon, corn hole, obstacle courses, and a scavenger hunt. Each participant worked on individualized goals related to communication skills, such as making requests to peers and initiating and maintaining conversations; social skills such as group participation, eye contact, and greetings; gross motor skills such as kicking, dribbling, and throwing; and community safety in an outdoor setting at the park.

One of my most memorable experiences of the Summer Sports Series was the first time we brought out water balloons for a water balloon “fight”. Initially, our participants were hesitant to throw balloons at each other, but with some modeling they quickly caught on and it became one of their favorite activities!

With each passing week, I noticed the different interests and skills of each of our participants and how each contributed to being a part of a team. I loved watching and helping our kids improve in their sports skills as well as encouraging and cheering each other on. It was a fun-filled summer!